Group Admins

Description

Since the increase in student fees in 2012, student expectations of a university education have changed. The economic climate in the UK, following the 2008-2009 economic crisis is one of slow recovery (ONS, 2014), marked by a return to pre-crisis employment rates but with lower wage growth. These circumstances, coupled with a recent increase in student fees (BBC, 2014), have produced prospective students with a greater focus on their future employment. They are more willing to challenge or question the relevance of course activities, to furthering their career development and future employability.

For students to invest in the processes that we provide for them, we have to ensure that both they and academic staff members are informed about changed approaches and take an active role in their future development. As new methods for assessment, feedback and sharing become available, academics will need support to learn what tools to use, when to use them and how to use them effectively.

Providing staff with appropriate tools was the starting point. An existing solution, came with a series of technical idiosyncrasies which when reviewed caused reccuring student/staff queries and mistakes in the management of asset submission. In this case, changing the tool alone made a significant impact on the resolution of some long-standing problems and complaints from both students and tutors. But for this change to be effective, we needed the insights of the academic users to inform the development process. Beyond that, we needed support and understanding to foster continued investment from staff in the application of a different approach to personal tutoring, through the use of e-portfolio tools.

How can we ensure that academic staff see the value in e-portfolio technology to support reflective writing and further developing the personal tutor relationship?

Will students become agents of “personal” change, without the right conditions?

With the support and insight of departmental administrators, the negotiation of these questions proved decisive and helped to raise the efficiency of both system management and query resolution. This case study session will provide some answers to these questions by reviewing the process of iterative development and refinement of employability e-portfolio design.

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